Stuff

Stuff's sophomore album More Stuff was quite similar to its first LP. Once again, the band offered a pleasant and good-natured, if unremarkable, blend of jazz, R&B, and pop. Many jazz critics gave this record negative reviews, attacking it for being commercial and groove-oriented. But Stuff never claimed to be Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers and tunes like Eric Gale's "Honey Coral Rock" and Cornell Dupree's "Subway" weren't meant to be straight-ahead bop. Stuff wanted to attract R&B and pop fans as well as jazz fans, and its members would have been happy to learn that someone who was into Marvin Gaye and Tyrone Davis also appreciated More Stuff. The fact that Stuff produced this LP with Charlie Kipps and the late Van McCoy says a lot; McCoy enjoyed one of disco's definitive smashes with 1975's "The Hustle," and he was also the guy who wrote Gladys Knight & the Pips' 1964 hit "Giving Up." So there was no way that an album McCoy co-produced was going to be a serious bop record. More Stuff isn't a masterpiece, although it's a decent LP that fared well in the crossover/NAC market. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide